Farr's magic rescues Aggie offense in 11-inning victory

Game #6: No. 24 Texas A&M 2, Penn 1 (11 innings)
Records: Texas A&M (6-0, 0-0), Penn (0-2, 0-0)
WP: Clayton Freshcorn (1-0)
LP: Ben Moulin (0-1)
Box Score

They say you either win or you learn.

For Michael Earley’s Aggies, they better be learning even though they keep winning.

Though No. 24 Texas A&M improved to 6-0 on Saturday afternoon, it was a largely frustrating 2-1 extra-inning win over Penn in front of 6,888 antsy fans at Blue Bell Park.

In fact, it has been a pretty head-scratching two days as the Aggies have scored just three runs in 20 innings vs. Ivy League pitching.

“Our pitchers gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask for. We didn’t do anything to help them offensive at all,” Earley said. “It’s a complete lack of commitment to an approach, a two-strike approach. Nothing they haven’t practiced, trained or honestly done to this point.

“We completely spun out of control. Chasing the fastball down made us chase the changeup down. Two-strike approach on balls in the zone; just completely unacceptable and something we’re definitely going to fix. Those guys are better than that. They’ve been better than that. They work on that, and they’ve got to buy in.”

To his point, on the weekend, A&M is 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position and 7-for-33 with men on.

On Saturday, the Maroon & White were a strike away from being shutout.

Fortunately, Sawyer Farr clutched up.

“Coming off the bench, it’s difficult to go in and execute, but I was just gathering information,” the sophomore said. “Saw five pitches. He came with that breaker on the first pitch and the third pitch, and I was just kind of hoping he came with it again, and he did, right in the spot where I wanted it.”

A pinch-hit double off Ben Moulin that stayed just fair down the right field line scored Terrence Kiel II.

In the top of the 10th, Farr made a sliding play to help Clayton Freshcorn retire the side in order.

An inning later, the fourth-generation Aggie worked a bases-loaded walk to clinch a second consecutive walk-off.

“I’ve come to Olsen Field since I was a kid,” Farr said. “It’s just a blessing to be a part of Olsen Magic. … You want to be the hero, so it was a cool moment. It was really cool.”

After scoring the winning run on Friday, Farr drove in both runs as Penn held a suddenly anemic Aggie offense to nine hits in 11 innings. Four Quaker arms — Marty Coyne, Luke Pokrovsky, Connor Darling and Moulin — combined to strike out 17.

Following an abbreviated on-field celebration, Earley voiced his frustrations in a quick team meeting inside the A&M clubhouse.

“We’re going to be better than that. I can’t say exactly what I said,” he explained. “Nothing’s due to a lack of effort. It’s just due to a lack of commitment for what we’re trying to do. I’ve got a good feeling they’ll get it together.

“We want wins, but we’re not going to be satisfied with all wins. We must keep getting better. We want to be a championships team. In order to be a champion, you must act like one before you are, and at the plate, that was not championship-level baseball.”

The silver lining is that the Aggie skipper could make that point in a winning effort.

Such an opportunity would not exist without another masterful pitching display.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

In his second start of the year, Weston Moss racked up eight punchouts in six innings, giving up three hits and only one free base.

Picking up where Shane Sdao, Ethan Darden and Josh Stewart left off, Weston Moss, Juan Vargas and Freshcorn were impressive.

Penn’s only run was unearned thanks to a third-inning error. Beyond that, the Aggie arms suffocated the Quakers.

“It all started on the mound,” Earley said. “Our pitchers completed carried us today. Good thing those guys showed up and Sawyer Farr showed up.”

Turning in a quality six-inning start, Moss struck out a career-best eight. Vargas faced 10 men in three scoreless frames. In extras, Freshcorn tossed two perfect innings.

A&M’s pitching, which has issued just five walks in 54 innings this season, was great. If it were only “good” on Saturday, it wouldn’t have been good enough.

“We just attack guys, and that’s something that I’ve gotten better at over the past few months,” Freshcorn said. “We’re fighting every day. That’s the mindset that we wanted.”

That fight must carry over and even spread to the hitters.

The learning process continues when the series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

NOTE
All-American outfielder Caden Sorrell did not start on Saturday, though he entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning before Sawyer Farr pinch-hit for him an inning later. Sorrell was spiked on a caught-stealing in the seventh inning of Friday’s win, and the wound needed stitches. Michael Earley provided an update on Sorrell’s status postgame:

“Caden got a stitch in his bottom hand. We swung a little bit in the cage today, but it’s just not right. It’s one of those things that, by all accounts, it does not look like it could be long-term at all. It’s right here [between the right thumb and index finger] towards the top. The day after, gripping a bat… He’s going to be day-to-day. I don’t know about tomorrow. We’ll see how he’s feeling, but with something like this, just get the stitches and the swelling to go down.”